MIDEAST >Iraq PM calls for early elections

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for early elections to be held, a statement released today said, after a series of political crises escalated into calls for his removal.

"When the other side refuses to sit at the table of dialogue and insists on the policy of provoking successive crises in a way that causes serious damage to the supreme interests of Iraqi people, the prime minister found himself forced to call for early elections," a statement on the premier's website said.

Iraq has been hit by a series of intertwined political crises that began in mid-December with accusations by the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc that Maliki was concentrating power in his hands and have escalated into calls to unseat him.

An effort to persuade President Jalal Talabani to call a no-confidence vote stalled earlier this month when he said that Maliki's opponents lacked the votes to oust him.

That decision meant the only way Maliki's opponents could press their drive for a no-confidence motion was by requesting he appear before parliament and then holding the vote.

Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said on June 21 that Maliki's opponents were to ask in the coming days for him to appear before the house in a renewed bid to oust him.

The crises have paralysed government, especially parliament, which has passed no significant legislation except for the budget, while other important measures such as a hydrocarbons law regulating Iraq's oil sector have been delayed.